Thursday, 9 January 2014

Eyes Front and Centre...

A Buddhist monk seeks alms in Heiwa dori market - Naha c2005.

I've seen monks going about their daily life many times while in Okinawa, they often have a calm but focused look about them as they move quietly and deliberately through the crowd. It's as if they are aware there is a lot of "stuff " going on around them, but they don't allow it to interfere or distract them from the task at hand.

I often wish more karateka could adopt this kind of thinking...that is, to keep their mind on what they need to be doing, instead of watching what everyone else is up to. When you couple this with defencive thinking and the need to be right all the time, it's no wonder the average karateka falls way short of having the same kind of self-control as the man in the picture.

By keeping your mind tuned-in to the things you need to do in life, the things that bring you contentment and afford you opportunities to make progress, it is quite possible to let the rest of the (karate) world get on with it. Of course you have to have a certain level of maturity as a karateka, and there's the rub....most folks teaching and training in karate these days are as lost in the noise and industry of life as the folks who rush past the monk on his quiet walk through the market.